This English muffin recipe uses coconut butter in place of butter, and they are perfectly fluffy wonderful muffins. Just like English muffins made with butter these muffins even more tastier when they are toasted and the edges are browned and crunchy. The coconut butter gives the muffins a slightly different aroma than butter which are also very delightfully rich and flavorful. Also the sourdough and the poolish brings out even greater complexity to the flavors the muffins.
Ingredients:
- 240 grams lukewarm water
- 240 grams mature whole wheat sourdough (100% hydration, 1:3:3 ratio, fermented 4-6 hours in room temperature)
- 5 grams honey
- 370 bread flour
- 5 grams salt
- 2 tablespoon coconut butter (traditionally made with butter - when using butter, substitute the coconut butter with the same amount of butter)
Steps to make soft coconut butter English muffins (12-18 muffins)
Day 1: Preparing the sourdough English muffin dough and rest overnight in the refrigerator
- In a large bowl add the lukewarm water and the sourdough and gently mix the two until the sourdough is nicely dissolved. Then add in the rest of the ingredients and gently combine with a ladle or spatula for about 2-3 minutes.
- The dough should be very wet and shaggy. Cover the dough and let it rest on the counter for one hour.
- Then move it to the fridge and let it rest overnight.
Day 2: Shaping and cooking/baking the sourdough English muffins
- Take the dough out of the fridge and move the dough onto a well-floured surface. Sprinkle some flour to the surface of the dough and cover it with a towel and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. The dough may feel a little stiff but it will loosen up as it warms up.
- Next, remove the towel from the dough and generously flour the top surface of the dough and gently flatten it out with the palm of your hands and fingers or a rolling pin to 3/4 inches (approx. 2 cm)
- Before cutting the dough, prepare a large tray to hold the cut muffins, make sure to dust the tray with a lot of flour and cornmeal to prevent the muffins from sticking. Using parchment paper on the tray dusted with flour and cornmeal will also prevent sticking.
- Next, cut the muffins with a round-shaped cookie cutter or a top of a glass, dust it well with flour also.
- Move the cut muffins onto the tray and cover it with a towel to prevent the surface from drying.
- Reshape the remaining dough by lightly pushing the dough together and let it relax for 10-15 minutes before cutting again.
- Next, let all the cut muffins rest for 2-4 hours at room temperature until it has increased 20-30% in size. Also, do the finger test by pushing lightly on a muffin with your fingers, and if the dough does not bounce back, or leave a fingermark, the muffins are ready for cooking.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle to low-medium heat and place the muffins to cook.
- Cook each side for 6-8 minutes.
- If you want to speed up the process on the iron cast, cook the muffins on both sides for 2-3 minutes until it is lightly browned then move them into the oven at 350F and bake for 10-15 minutes so that the inside of the muffins are cooked through.
